Gas Processing Thesis

Natural Gas
Dehydration
B.Sc Graduation Project
2011-2012
Supervised by:
Dr. Nadia El-Sayed
Team Work:
Ahmed Hassan Montaser.
Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Zohiri.
Ahmed Said Mohammed.
Kareem Mohammed Hassan.
Kareem Mohammed Mahmoud.
Mohammed Badry Hammad.

2 Natural Gas Dehydration.

Table of Contents

Dedication ................................................................................................................... 5
1 .Introduction to Natural Gas ....................................................................................... 6
1.1 Natural Gas History ......................................................................................... 7
1.2 What is Natural Gas? ....................................................................................... 7
1.3 Natural Gas Classification ............................................................................... 8
1.3.1 Based on reserve ........................................................................................ 8
1.3.2 The petroleum gases classified based on the source of the gas: .................. 8
1.4 Types of Natural Gas ....................................................................................... 8
1.5 Composition of Natural Gas ............................................................................ 9
1.6 Formation of Natural Gas ................................................................................ 9
1.7 Combustion of Natural Gas ........................................................................... 11
1.8 Uses of Natural Gas ....................................................................................... 12
1.9 Establishing of natural gas infrastructure ....................................................... 14
1.10 Natural Gas exportation .............................................................................. 16
2 .Properties of Natural Gas ........................................................................................ 19
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 20
2.2 Specific Gravity ............................................................................................. 20
2.3 Gas Density ................................................................................................... 21
2.4 Pseudo critical Properties ............................................................................... 21
2.5 Viscosity ........................................................................................................ 23
2.6 Compressibility Factor ................................................................................... 26
2.7 Gas Formation Volume Factor ....................................................................... 28
3 .Natural Gas Processing (I) ...................................................................................... 29
3.1 Separation ...................................................................................................... 31
3.1.1 Functions of separator: ............................................................................ 31
3.1.2 Vertical separators: .................................................................................. 32
3.1.3 Horizontal separators ............................................................................... 32
3.1.4 Horizontal Three-Phase Separator with a Liquid Boot: ........................ 35

3.1.5 Spherical Separator .................................................................................. 35
3.1.6 Factors affecting separation: .................................................................... 36
3.2 Acid gas treatment ......................................................................................... 37
3.2.1 Metal Oxide Processes............................................................................. 39
3.2.2 Amine Processes...................................................................................... 42
4 .Natural Gas Processing (II) ..................................................................................... 47
4.1.1 Water content determination .................................................................... 49
4.1.2 Hydrates in natural gas systems ............................................................... 49
4.1.3 Hydrate Inhibition ................................................................................... 55
4.1.4 Adsorption: Solid-Bed Dehydration ........................................................ 59
4.1.5 Glycol Dehydration ................................................................................. 62
5 .Process Design ........................................................................................................ 79
5.1 Data Given: ................................................................................................... 80
5.2 General Calculations ...................................................................................... 81
5.2.1 Correction for non-hydrocarbons ............................................................. 81
5.2.2 Calculating ....................................................................... 82
5.3 Determination of Water content ..................................................................... 82
5.4 Glycol circulation calculations ....................................................................... 83
5.5 Water material balance .................................................................................. 83
5.6 Design for tray tower ..................................................................................... 84
5.7 Reboiler duty ................................................................................................. 86
5.8 Stripping column design ................................................................................ 87
5.9 The column internals ..................................................................................... 87
5.10 Heat exchangers ......................................................................................... 88
5.11 Pump design steps ...................................................................................... 93
Datasheet for TEG Based Gas Dehydration Unit .................................................... 94
6 .Appendix ................................................................................................................ 96
Table of figures ..................................................................................................... 116
7 .Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 118

Dedication

Thanks to Allah, first of all. Thanks
to my family, my fiance, and my
closest friends who helped and
encouraged me.

Kareem M. Mahmoud
To my mommy, the person who I
won't never ever forget. To my
family whom I always find them
behind me.

Ahmed Hassan
To all my teaches, including my
mother

Kareem M. Hassan
To the poor people around beloved
Egypt, we dedicate you our efforts,
hoping Egypt be better by you as
well as all sons who love our forever
beloved Egypt.
Ahmed Said
To all my family, especially my
mother.

Mohammed Badry
To my family, I dedicate this work.

Ahmed Al-Zohiri


1 .Introduction to Natural Gas
This chapter includes necessary knowledge about natural gas origin, history, composition and
classification. Also, includes a snapshot about economics, uses and demand of natural gas in Egypt
and over the world.

1.1 Natural Gas History
Natural gas is nothing new. In fact, most of the natural gas that is brought out from
under the ground is millions and millions of years old. However, it was not until
recently that methods for obtaining this gas, bringing it to the surface, and putting it to
use were developed.
Britain was the first country to commercialize the use of natural gas. Around 1785,
natural gas produced from coal was used to light houses, as well as streetlights
However; this manufactured gas was much less efficient, and less environmentally
friendly.
In 1821, the first well specifically intended to obtain natural gas was dug in Fredonia,
New York by William Hart. After noticing gas bubbles rising to the surface of a creek,
Hart dug a 27-foot well to try and obtain a larger flow of gas to the surface.
During most of the 19th century, natural gas was used almost exclusively as a source
of light. Without a pipeline infrastructure, it was difficult to transport the gas very far.
After World War II, welding techniques, pipe rolling, and metallurgical advances
allowed for the construction of reliable pipelines. The transportation infrastructure had
made natural gas easy to obtain, and it was becoming an increasingly popular form of
energy.
1.2 What is Natural Gas?
Natural gas is a vital component of the world's supply of energy. It is one of the
cleanest, safest, and most useful of all energy sources. Despite its importance,
however, there are many misconceptions about natural gas. For instance, the word
'gas' itself has a variety of different uses, and meanings. When we fuel our car, we put
'gas' in it. However, the gasoline that goes into your vehicle, while a fossil fuel itself,
is very different from natural gas.

Natural gas, in itself, might be considered an uninteresting gas - it is colourless,
shapeless, and odourless in its pure form. Quite uninteresting - except that natural gas
is combustible, abundant in the United States and when burned it gives off a great deal
of energy and few emissions. Unlike other fossil fuels, natural gas is clean burning and
emits lower levels of potentially harmful by products into the air.
1.3 Natural Gas Classification
1.3.1 Based on reserve
1) natural gas reservoir
2) condensate gas reservoir
3) associated with crude oil
1.3.2 The petroleum gases classified based on the source of the gas:
1) refinery gas
i. distillate gas
ii. other process
2) Natural gas
1.4 Types of Natural Gas
1. Wet gas: which is vital for processing operations? Contains some condensable
hydrocarbon molecules.
2. Dry gas: indicates that the fluid does not contain enough of heavier hydrocarbon
molecules to form a liquid at surface conditions.
3. Lean gas: doesn't contain water vapor.
4. Sour gas : contain H2S and other sulfur compound, co2
5. sweet gas :doesn't contain H2S and other sulfur compound

1.5 Composition of Natural Gas
Natural gas is a combustible mixture of hydrocarbon gases. While natural gas is
formed primarily of methane, it can also include ethane, propane, butane and pentane.
The composition of natural gas can vary widely, but below is a chart outlining the
typical makeup of natural gas before it is refined.
Table 1-1 Typical Composition of Natural Gas
Methane CH
4
70-90%
Ethane C
2
H
6

0-20% Propane C
3
H
8

Butane C
4
H
10

Carbon Dioxide CO
2
0-8%
Oxygen O
2
0-0.2%
Nitrogen N
2
0-5%
Hydrogen sulphide H
2
S 0-5%
Rare gases A, He, Ne, Xe Trace

In its purest form, such as the natural gas that is delivered to your home, it is almost
pure methane. Methane is a molecule made up of one carbon atom and four hydrogen
atoms, and is referred to as CH4. The distinctive rotten egg smell that we often
associate with natural gas is actually an odorant called mercaptan that is added to the
gas before it is delivered to the end-user. Mercaptan aids in detecting any leaks.
1.6 Formation of Natural Gas
Natural gas is a fossil fuel. Like oil and coal, this means that it is, essentially, the
remains of plants and animals and microorganisms that lived millions and millions of
years ago. But how do these once living organisms become an inanimate mixture of
gases.

There are many different theories as to the origins of fossil fuels. The most widely
accepted theory says that fossil fuels are formed when organic matter (such as the
remains of a plant or animal) is compressed under the earth, at very high pressure for a
very long time. This is referred to as thermogenic methane. Similar to the formation of
oil, thermogenic methane is formed from organic particles that are covered in mud and
other sediment. Over time, more and more sediment and mud and other debris are
piled on top of the organic matter. This sediment and debris puts a great deal of
pressure on the organic matter, which compresses it. This compression, combined with
high temperatures found deep underneath the earth, breaks down the carbon bonds in
the organic matter. As one gets deeper and deeper under the earths crust, the
temperature gets higher and higher. At low temperatures (shallower deposits), more oil
is produced relative to natural gas. At higher temperatures, however, more natural gas
is created, as opposed to oil. That is why natural gas is usually associated with oil in
deposits that are 1 to 2 miles below the earth's crust. Deeper deposits, very far
underground, usually contain primarily natural gas, and in many cases, pure methane.
Natural gas can also be formed through the transformation of organic matter by tiny
microorganisms. This type of methane is referred to as biogenic methane.
Methanogens, tiny methane-producing microorganisms, chemically break down
organic matter to produce methane. These microorganisms are commonly found in
areas near the surface of the earth that are void of oxygen. These microorganisms also
live in the intestines of most animals, including humans. Formation of methane in this
manner usually takes place close to the surface of the earth, and the methane produced
is usually lost into the atmosphere. In certain circumstances, however, this methane
can be trapped underground, recoverable as natural gas. An example of biogenic
methane is landfill gas. Waste-containing landfills produce a relatively large amount
of natural gas from the decomposition of the waste materials that they contain. New
technologies are allowing this gas to be harvested and used to add to the supply of
natural gas.

A third way in which methane (and natural gas) may be formed is through abiogenic
processes. Extremely deep under the earth's crust, there exist hydrogen-rich gases and
carbon molecules. As these gases gradually rise towards the surface of the earth, they
may interact with minerals that also exist underground, in the absence of oxygen. This
interaction may result in a reaction, forming elements and compounds that are found
in the atmosphere (including nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon, and water). If
these gases are under very high pressure as they move toward the surface of the earth,
they are likely to form methane deposits, similar to thermogenic methane.
1.7 Combustion of Natural Gas
When we say that methane is combustible, it means that it is possible to burn it.
Chemically, this process consists of a reaction between methane and oxygen. When
this reaction takes place, the result is carbon dioxide (
2
), water (
2
), and a great
deal of energy. Chemists would write the following to represent the combustion of
methane:
4 ()
+ 2
2 ()

2
+ 2
2
()
+ 891
That is, one molecule of methane (the [g] referred to above means it is gaseous form)
combined with two oxygen atoms, react to form a carbon dioxide molecule, two water
molecules (the [L] above means that the water molecules are in liquid form, although
it is usually evaporated during the reaction to give off steam) and 891 kilojoules (KJ)
of energy. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel. Coal and oil, the other fossil
fuels, are more chemically complicated than natural gas, and when combusted, they
release a variety of potentially harmful chemicals into the air. Burning methane
releases only carbon dioxide and water. Since natural gas is mostly methane, the
combustion of natural gas releases fewer by products than other fossil fuels.

1.8 Uses of Natural Gas
For hundreds of years, natural gas has been known as a very useful substance. In the
early days of the natural gas industry, the gas was mainly used to light streetlamps,
and the occasional house.
There are so many different applications for this fossil fuel that it is hard to provide an
exhaustive list of everything it is used for. And no doubt, new uses are being
discovered all the time. To learn more about technological advancements in the natural
gas industry, click here. Natural gas has many applications, commercially, in your
home, in industry, and even in the transportation sector! While the uses described here
are not exhaustive, they may help to show just how many things natural gas can do.
According to the Energy Information Administration, energy from natural gas
accounts for 24 percent of total energy consumed in the United States, making it a
vital component of the nation's energy supply. For more detailed information on the
demand for and supply of energy, and natural gas, including forecasts and outlooks.
Natural gas is used across all sectors, in varying amounts. The graph below gives an
idea of the proportion of natural gas use per sector. The industrial sector accounts for
the greatest proportion of natural gas use in the United States, with the residential
sector consuming the second greatest quantity of natural gas.
Almost all of Egypts 3.2 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy
consumption in 2008 was met by oil (45 percent) and natural gas (49 percent). Oils
share of the energy mix is mostly in the transportation sector but with the development
of compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure and vehicles, the share of natural gas
in the transportation sector is expected to grow.


Figure 1-1 (Total Energy Consumption in Egypt, By type"2008")
In terms of electricity generation, natural gas accounts for over 70 percent of the total
mix, with the remainder being met mostly by hydroelectricity. Plans are underway to
further expand electricity generation capacity by utilizing the countrys vast wind and
solar resources, expanding the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Power Grid, and also
through development of nuclear power.
Natural gas is used extensively in residential, commercial and industrial applications:
a. Electric power generation
b. cooling
c. As fuel (fuel for steam raising, metal working, process heat for
cement production, transportation e.g. trains, LNG ships, buses.)
d. In petrochemical (
2
,
3
,
4
) ethylene, propylene, and butylenes.
e. In LPG(
3
,
4
)
f. Fertilizer (
1
,
2
).
g. Space heating, water heating, and cooling .For restaurants and
other establishments that require cooking facilities.


1.9 Establishing of natural gas infrastructure
Several gas gathering and treatment facilities were built over the past 20 years, taking
into account analysis of gas and prevailing conditions. Such facilities are currently
processing associated gas and free gas to recover Butane, propane and ethane.
About 34.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas (for local market & export).
About 1.2 million tons of LPG (for local market)
About 294,000 tons of Propane (for export)
About 472,000 tons of Ethane & Propane (for petrochemicals feedstock).
About 26.6 million Barrels of Condensate.

Expanding local energy markets utilizing gas Power generation has been and will
continue to be the largest gas consumer in the country consuming about 60% of total
gas utilized. Dual firing of all recently built power plants is an essential factor in
maximizing gas utilization in that sector, together with the tremendous increase in
electricity generation to support economic and social development plans. This is
Figure 1-2 (Egyptian Natural Gas Consumption)

evidenced by the fact that the generated electricity has doubled in the past 10 years.

Natural gas has been made available to all nitrogenous fertilizer plants as a
feedstock and as a fuel gas. Consumption in the fertilizer industry represents about
9% of overall gas consumption. Natural gas is being utilized as a fuel in cement,
ceramics, textile, glass, petroleum industries.

Domestic consumers and commercial consumers (hotels, hospitals, recreation
centres, bakeries) represent a growing market of gas, about 2.1% residential and
commercial customers are currently supplied by natural gas.
Participation of private is attribution companies is intended to enhance domestic gas
market. Currently 11 gas distribution companies are involved in that business. Egypt
is a pioneer in Middle East and Africa to commercialize NG utilization as a fuel for
vehicles.
Currently 63,000 vehicles are using NG as a fuel; about 95% fuels in gas stations are
in operation. Egypt is among the first 10 countries involved in LNG operations in
the world. Recently, studies have been made to use natural gas in air conditioners
instead of electricity. It is to mention that "Gas Cool" company is utilizing the
technology in Smart Village, where by Natural Gas replaces electricity has already
been established.

The steadily increasing utilization of natural gas in the Egyptian local market by
major consuming sectors in the past 25 years has proved to be of positive economic
and environmental impact, it's worth mentioning that Natural Gas supplied to 18
Governorates & Industrial areas.

Egypt's natural gas sector is expanding rapidly with production quadrupling between
1998 and 2009. According to the Oil and Gas Journal, Egypts estimated proven gas
reserves stand at 77 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), an increase from 2010 estimates of 58.5

Tcf and the third highest in Africa after Nigeria (187 Tcf) and Algeria (160 Tcf). In
2009, Egypt produced roughly 2.3 Tcf and consumed 1.6 Tcf. With the ongoing
expansion of the Arab Gas Pipeline, and LNG facilities, Egypt will continue to be an
important supplier of natural gas to Europe and the Mediterranean region.

Figure 1-3 (Egypt's Natural Gas Production and Consumption 1999-2009)

1.10 Natural Gas exportation
Diversification of the Egyptian gas supply outlets is becoming an essential factor and
an outstanding milestone for the Egyptian gas industry, securing long term up stream
investment in gas prone areas. Therefore, gas export is considered an upward turning
point. Egypt has already entered gas export area by signing gas export agreements.Gas
export by pipeline to Jordan. First phase of the project will satisfy Jordan's local gas
demand; next phase of the project will involve extension of the pipeline to other gas
markets. Spanish Egyptian LNG (SEGAS). Export from that LNG Train already
Started since Jan.2005, 51 Cargos of LNG have been exported.

The Egyptian LNG company (ELNG) has been established by
EGAS/EGPC/BG/Petronas/GDF. The first train of LNG was built by ELN Gat IDKU,
east Alexandria and put on stream May2005. Sale and purchase agreement of the first
train LNG production has been signed with Gazde France. The project involves


Figure 1-4 (National Gas Grid)

building LNG export terminal among the required infrastructure. For the second Train
sale and Purchase agreement has been signed with British Gas, the whole production
of Train 2 for export to the United-States and Italy.
The experience gained by the Egyptian gas industry dealing with Union Fenosa and
ELNG projects, has created awareness of the current change sand future trends of the
gas trading in general and the LNG trade in particular, which will promote future steps
with the Egyptian gas export scheme.

Figure 1-5 (Forecasted Natural Gas Demand)


2 .Properties of Natural Gas
In this chapter, we try to explain the general properties of the natural gas and the fundamental
calculations which are necessary to all applications of natural gas.

2.1 Introduction
Properties of natural gas include gas-specific gravity, pseudocritical pressure and
temperature, viscosity, compressibility factor, gas density, and gas compressibility.
Knowledge of these property values is essential for designing and analyzing natural
gas production and processing systems. Because natural gas is a complex mixture of
light hydrocarbons with a minor amount of inorganic compounds, it is always
desirable to find the composition of the gas through measurements. Once the gas
composition is known, gas properties can usually be estimated using established
correlations with confidence. This chapter focuses on determination of gas properties
with correlations developed from various lab measurements. Example problems are
presented and solved using computer programs provided with this book.
2.2 Specific Gravity
Gas-specific gravity (
) is defined as the ratio of the apparent molecular weight of a

natural gas to that of air, itself a mixture of gases. The molecular weight of air is
usually taken as equal to 28.97 (approximately 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen).
Therefore the gas gravity is where the apparent molecular weight of gas can be
calculated on the basis of gas composition. Gas composition is usually determined in a
laboratory and reported in mole fractions of components in the gas. Let
be the mole
fraction of component i, the apparent molecular weight of the gas can be formulated
using mixing rule as:
=1

Equation 2-1

where
is the molecular weight of component i, and Nc is the number of

components. The molecular weights of compounds (
) can be found in textbooks

on organic chemistry or petroleum fluids such as that by McCain (1973). A light gas
reservoir is one that contains primarily methane with some ethane. Pure methane

would have a gravity equal to (
16.04
28.97
) = 0.55. A rich or heavy gas reservoir may have
a gravity equal to 0.75 or, in some rare cases, higher than 0.9.
2.3 Gas Density
Gas density is defined as mass per unit volume and so can also be derived and
calculated from the real gas law:
=
.
. .

Equation 2-2
Knowing that the molecular weight of gas is the product of specific gravity and
molecular weight of air and that the value of R is 10.73 in field units [8.314 in SI
units], we can write the equation for density as:
= 2.7
.

Equation 2-3
Where
is in lbm/
3
, P is in psia, and T is in R.
2.4 Pseudo critical Properties
Similar to gas apparent molecular weight, the critical properties of a gas can be
determined on the basis of the critical properties of compounds in the gas using the
mixing rule. The gas critical properties determined in such a way are called pseudo
critical properties. Gas pseudo critical pressure (
) and pseudo critical temperature

(
) are, respectively, expressed as
=1

Equation 2-4

=1

Equation 2-5

Where
and
are critical pressure and critical temperature of component i,

respectively.

If the gas composition is not known but gas-specific gravity is given, the pseudo
critical pressure and temperature can be determined from various charts or correlations
developed based on the charts. One set of simple correlations is:

= 709.604 58.718

Equation 2-6
= 170.491 307.344

Equation 2-7

Which are valid for
2
< 3%,
2
< 5%, and total content of inorganic compounds
less than 7%. Corrections for impurities in sour gases are always necessary. The
corrections can be made using either charts or correlations such as the Wichert-Aziz
(1972) correction expressed as follows:
=
2

Equation 2-8
=

Equation 2-9

3
= 120
0.9
1.6
+15(
0.5

0.4
)
Equation 2-10

3

Equation 2-11

+ (1 )
3

Equation 2-12
Correlations with impurity corrections for mixture pseudocriticals are also available
(Ahmed 1989):
= 678 50
0.5 206.7
2
+440
2
+ 660

Equation 2-13

= 326 315.7
0.5 240
2
83.3
2
+ 133.3

Equation 2-14

Equation 2-15

Equation 2-16
2.5 Viscosity
Gas viscosity is a measure of the resistance to flow exerted by the gas. Dynamic
viscosity (
) in centipoises (cp) is usually used in the natural engineering:

1 = 6.72 10
4

.

Equation 2-17
Kinematic viscosity (
)is related to the dynamic viscosity through density(

Equation 2-18

Kinematic viscosity is not normally used in natural gas engineering. Direct
measurements of gas viscosity are preferred for a new gas. If gas composition and
viscosities of gas components are known, the mixing rule can be used for determining
the viscosity of the gas mixture:
=
(
)
(
)

Equation 2-19
Gas viscosity is very often estimated with charts or correlations developed based on
the charts. The gas viscosity correlation of Carr, Kobayashi, and Burrows (1954)
involves a two-step procedure: the gas viscosity at temperature and atmospheric
pressure is estimated first from gas-specific gravity and inorganic compound content.
The atmospheric value is then adjusted to pressure conditions by means of a correction
factor on the basis of reduced temperature and pressure state of the gas. The
atmospheric pressure viscosity (
1
) can be expressed as:

1
=
1
+
1
2
+
1
2
+
1
2

Equation 2-20
Where,
1
= 8.188 10
3
6.15 10
3
log
+1.709 10
5
2.062 10
6

Equation 2-21

1
2
= 9.59 10
3
+8.48 10
3
log
2

Equation 2-22

1
2
= 6.24 10
3
+9.08 10
3
log
2

Equation 2-23

1
2
= 3.73 10
3
+8.49 10
3
log

Equation 2-24
Dempsey (1965) developed the following relation:
= ln
=
0
+
1
+
2
2
+
3
3
+
4
+
5
+
6
2
+
7
8
+
9
+
10
2
+
11
3
+
3
(
12
+
13
+
14
2
+
15
3
)
Equation 2-25
Where,
0
= 2.46211820
1
= 2.97054714
2
= 0.28626405
3
= 0.00805420
4
= 2.80860949
5
= 3.49803305
6
= 0.36037302
7
= 0.01044324
8
= 0.79338568
9
= 1.39643306
10
= 0.14914493
11
= 0.004411016
12
= 0.08393872
13
= 0.18640885
14
= 0.02033679
15
= 0.00060958


Thus, once the value of
is determined from the right-hand side of this equation, gas

viscosity at elevated pressure can be readily calculated using the following relation:
=

1

Equation 2-26
2.6 Compressibility Factor
The volume of a real gas is usually less than what the volume of an ideal gas would
be, and hence a real gas is said to be supercompressible. The ratio of the real volume
to the ideal volume, which is a measure of the amount the gas deviates from perfect
behavior, is called the supercompressibility factor, sometimes shortened to the
compressibility factor. It is also called the gas deviation factor and is given the symbol
Z. The gas deviation factor is, by definition, the ratio of the volume actually occupied
by a gas at a given pressure and temperature to the volume it would occupy if it
behaved ideally. The real gas equation of state is then written as:

=

Equation 2-27

Introducing the z-factor to the gas law for ideal gas results in the gas law for real gas
as:
=
Equation 2-28
where n is the number of moles of gas. When pressure p is entered in psia, volume V
in
3
, and temperature in , the gas constant R is equal to 10.73
.
3
.

The gas deviation factor, Z, is close to 1 at low pressures and high temperatures, which
means the gas behaves as an ideal gas at these conditions. At standard or atmospheric
conditions the gas Z factor is always approximately 1. The theory of corresponding

states dictates that the Z factor can be uniquely defined as a function of reduced
pressure and reduced temperature.
The most commonly used method to estimate the Z factor is the chart provided by
Standing and Katz (1942). The Z factor chart is shown in Figure 2-1. The chart covers
the range of reduced pressure from 0 to 15, and the range of reduced temperature from
1.05 to 3.

Figure 2-1 (Standing and Katz Compressibility factor chart)

The Z factor chart of Standing and Katz (1942) is only valid for mixtures of
hydrocarbon gases. Wichert and Aziz (1972) developed a correlation to account for
inaccuracies in the Standing and Katz chart when the gas contains significant fractions
of acid gases, specifically carbon dioxide (
2
) and hydrocarbon sulfide (
2
). The
Wichert and Aziz (1972) correlation modifies the values of the pseudocritical
temperature and pressure of the gas. Once the modified pseudocritical properties are
obtained, they are used to calculate pseudo-reduced properties and the Z factor is
determined from Figure 2-1. The Wichert and Aziz (1972) correlation first calculates a
deviation parameter as mentioned in equations (2-6) to (2-10). The correlation is
applicable to concentrations of
2
< 54.4 mol% and
2
< 73.8 mol%. Wichert and
Aziz found their correlation to have an average absolute error of 0.97% over the
following ranges of data: [154 psia < P < 7026 psia] and [40F < T < 300F].

2.7 Gas Formation Volume Factor
The formation volume factor for gas is defined as the ratio of volume of 1 mol of gas
at a given pressure and temperature to the volume of 1 mole of gas at standard
conditions (Ps and Ts). Using the real gas law and assuming that the Z factor at
standard conditions is 1, the equation for formation volume factor (
) can be written
as:

Equation 2-29
when Ps is 1 atmosphere (14.6959 psia or 101.325 kPa) and Ts is 60F (519.67R or
288.71K), this equation can be written in three well-known standard forms:
= 0.0283

Equation 2-30
Where
is in
, P is in psia, and T is in R


3 .Natural Gas Processing (I)
(Separation and Sweetening)
Natural gas form wellhead to the user. This chapter explains the main processes applied on natural
gas from wellhead, till it's delivered to the consumer.

Natural gas is often found in places where there is no local market,
such as in the many offshore fields around the world. For natural gas to be
available to the market, it must be gathered, processed, and transported. Quite
often, collected natural gas (raw gas) must be transported over a substantial
distance in pipelines of different sizes. These pipelines vary in length between
hundreds of feet to hundreds of miles, across undulating terrain with varying
temperature conditions.

Natural gas processing term includes all processes which take place to the gas after it
has been produced from well head and till it is sold to the consumer as a gas or LNG.
Figure 3-1 shows typical processes applied to natural gas.

Figure 3-1 (Processes applied to Natural Gas)

3.1 Separation
Stream comes out of the well head contains gas, oil and sometimes water. These three
phases can't be transported in the same pipe line due to distinction of the phases which
causes major problems in pipeline being transferred through. Separation takes place to
separate these phases into two or three streams, depending on water existence, by
means of separator.
Separators are large vessels, may vary in shape or configuration due to several factors,
which separation of the natural flow takes place. Separation principles are that
lowering the pressure of the natural flow to separate gas from oil and settling of water
from oil.
3.1.1 Functions of separator:
1- Separate the fluid received into gas and liquid.
2- Handle liquid slugs and prevent the receiving of them from upsetting the rest of
the plant.
3- Refine the primary separation by removing most of the entrained liquid mist
from the gas.
4- Refine the primary separation by removing the entrained gas from the liquid.
Main types of separators are:
1. Two-phase separator:
Which separates oil and gas into two streams.
2. Three-phase separator:
Which separates oil, gas and water into three streams.
There are many configurations for separators but the configurations are:
1. Vertical separators.
2. Horizontal separators
3. Spherical separators.

3.1.2 Vertical separators:
This is the most common type of separator and is normally used for the
separation of gas from a relatively large volume of liquid.
Figure 3-2 shows a typical configuration for a vertical three-phase separator. Flow
enters the vessel through the side. The inlet diverter separates the bulk of the gas. A
down-comer is required to route the liquid through the oilgas interface so as not to
disturb the oil skimming action taking place. A chimney is needed to equalize gas
pressure between the lower section and the gas section.
The spreader, or down-comer, outlet is located just below the oilwater interface,
thus water washing the incoming stream. From this point as the oil rises, any free
water trapped within the oil phase separates out. The water droplets flow counter-
current to the oil. Similarly, the water flows downward and oil droplets trapped in the
water phase tend to raise counter-current to the water flow.
3.1.3 Horizontal separators
The horizontal separator is most commonly used for the separation of large
volumes of gas from small volumes of liquid .it is also used extensively for handling
liquid slugs from gathering systems .
As shown in Figure 3-3 the fluid enters the separator and hits an inlet diverter. This
sudden change in momentum does the initial gross separation of liquid and vapour. In
most designs the inlet diverter contains a down-comer that directs the liquid flow
below the oilwater interface.


Figure 3-2 (Vertical Separator)

Figure 3-3 (Horizontal Separator)

This forces the inlet mixture of oil and water to mix with the water continuous
phase in the bottom of the vessel and rise through the oilwater interface. This process
is called water washing, and it promotes the coalescence of water droplets, which
are entrained in the oil continuous phase.
The liquid collecting section of the vessel provides sufficient time so that the oil
and emulsion form a layer or oil pad on top of the free water. The free water settles
to the bottom. Figure 3-4 is a cutaway view of a typical horizontal three-phase
separator with an interface level controller and weir. The weir maintains the oil level,
and the level controller maintains the water level. The oil is skimmed over the weir.
The level of the oil downstream of the weir is controlled by a level controller that
operates the oil dump valve.

Figure 3-4 (Three-Phase Separator)
The produced water flows from a nozzle in the vessel located upstream of the oil
weir. An interface level controller senses the height of the oilwater interface. The
controller sends a signal to the water dump valve, thus allowing the correct amount of

water to leave the vessel so that the oilwater interface is maintained at the design
height.
The gas flows horizontally and out through a mist extractor to a pressure control
valve that maintains constant vessel pressure. The level of the gasoil interface can
vary from 50% to 75% of the diameter depending on the relative importance of liquid
gas separation. The most common configuration is half-full.
3.1.4 Horizontal Three-Phase Separator with a Liquid Boot:
Figure 3-5 shows a horizontal three-phase separator with a water boot on the bottom
of the vessel barrel. The boot collects small amounts of water that settle out in the
liquid collection section and travel to the outlet end of the vessel. These vessels are a
special case of three-phase separators. In this case, the flow rate of both oil and water
can provide enough retention time for separation of oil and water, and there is no need
to use the main body of the separator to provide oil retention time.

Figure 3-5 (Horizontal Three-Phase separator with a liquid boot)
3.1.5 Spherical Separator
The spherical separator is designed to make optimum use of all the known means of
gas and liquid separation .

A typical spherical separator is shown in Figure 3-6. The same four sections can be
found in this vessel. Spherical separators are a special case of a vertical separator
where there is no cylindrical shell between the two heads. Fluid enters the vessel
through the inlet diverter where the flow stream is split into two streams.

Liquid falls to the liquid collection section, through openings in a horizontal plate
located slightly below the gas-liquid interface. The thin liquid layer across the plate
makes it easier for any entrained gases to separate and rise to the gravity settling
section. Gases rising out of the liquids pass through the mist extractor and out of the
separator through the gas outlet. Liquid level is maintained by a float connected to a
dump valve. Pressure is maintained by a back pressure control valve while the liquid
level is maintained by a liquid dump valve. Spherical separators were originally
designed to take advantage, theoretically, of the best characteristics of both horizontal
and vertical separators. In practice, however, these separators actually experienced the
worst characteristics and are very difficult to size and operate.

Figure 3-6 (Spherical Separator)
3.1.6 Factors affecting separation:
Characteristics of the flow stream will greatly affect the design and operation of a
separator. The following factors must be determined before separator design:


1. Gas and liquid flow rates (minimum, average, and peak),
2. Operating and design pressures and temperatures,
3. Surging or slugging tendencies of the feed streams.
4. Physical properties of the fluids such as density and compressibility factor.
5. Designed degree of separation (e.g., removing 100% of particles greater
than 10 microns).
6. Presence of impurities (paraffin, sand, scale, etc.).
7. Foaming tendencies of the crude oil.
8. Corrosive tendencies of the liquids or gas.
3.2 Acid gas treatment
Natural gas, while ostensibly being hydrocarbon in nature, contains large amounts of
acid gases, such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. Natural gas containing
hydrogen sulfide or carbon dioxide is referred to as sour, and natural gas free from
hydrogen sulfide is referred to as sweet. The corrosiveness nature of hydrogen sulfide
and carbon dioxide in the presence of water (giving rise to an acidic aqueous solution)
and because of the toxicity of hydrogen sulfide and the lack of heating value of carbon
dioxide, natural gas being prepared for sales is required to contain no more than 5 ppm
hydrogen sulfide and to have a heating value of no less than 920 to 980 Btu/scf. The
actual specifications depend on the use, the country where the gas is used, and the
contract. However, because natural gas has a wide range of composition, including the
concentration of the two acid gases, processes for the removal of acid gases vary and
are subject to choice based on the desired end product.
There are many variables in treating natural gas. The precise area of application of a
given process is difficult to define. Several factors must be considered:
1. Types and concentrations of contaminants in the gas.
2. The degree of contaminant removal desired.
3. The selectivity of acid gas removal required.

4. The temperature, pressure, volume, and composition of the gas to be processed.
5. The carbon dioxidehydrogen sulfide ratio in the gas.
6. The desirability of sulfur recovery due to process economics or environmental
issues.
In addition to hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, gas may contain other
contaminants, such as mercaptans and carbonyl sulfide. The presence of these
impurities may eliminate some of the sweetening processes, as some processes remove
large amounts of acid gas but not to a sufficiently low concentration. However, there
are those processes that are not designed to remove (or are incapable of removing)
large amounts of acid gases. These processes are also capable of removing the acid gas
impurities to very low levels when the acid gases are there in low to medium
concentrations in the gas.
Process selectivity indicates the preference with which the process removes one acid
gas component relative to (or in preference to) another. For example, some processes
remove both hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide; other processes are designed to
remove hydrogen sulfide only. It is important to consider the process selectivity for,
say, hydrogen sulfide removal compared to carbon dioxide removal that ensures
minimal concentrations of these components in the product, thus the need for
consideration of the carbon dioxide to hydrogen sulfide in the gas stream.
There are two general processes used for acid gas removal: adsorption and absorption.
Adsorption is a physicalchemical phenomenon in which the gas is concentrated on
the surface of a solid or liquid to remove impurities. Usually, carbon is the adsorbing
medium, which can be regenerated upon desorption. The quantity of material adsorbed
is proportional to the surface area of the solid and, consequently, adsorbents are
usually granular solids with a large surface area per unit mass. Subsequently, the
captured gas can be desorbed with hot air or steam either for recovery or for thermal
destruction. Adsorbers are widely used to increase a low gas concentration prior to

incineration unless the gas concentrations very high in the inlet air stream. Adsorption
is also employed to reduce problem odors from gases.
There are several limitations to the use of adsorption systems, but it is generally felt
that the major one is the requirement for minimization of particulate matter and/or
condensation of liquids (e.g., water vapor) that could mask the adsorption surface and
reduce its efficiency drastically.
Absorption differs from adsorption in that it is not a physicalchemical surface
phenomenon, but an approach in which the absorbed gas is ultimately distributed
throughout the absorbent (liquid). The process depends only on physical solubility and
may include chemical reactions in the liquid phase (chemisorption). Common
absorbing media used are water, aqueous amine solutions, caustic, sodium carbonate,
and nonvolatile hydrocarbon oils, depending on the type of gas to be absorbed.
3.2.1 Metal Oxide Processes
These processes scavenge hydrogen sulfide and organic sulfur compounds
(mercaptans) from gas streams through reactions with solid-based media. They are
typically non-regenerable, although some are partially regenerable, losing activity
upon each regeneration cycle. Most dry sorption processes are governed by the
reaction of a metal oxide with H2S to form a metal sulfide compound. For regenerable
reactions, the metal sulfide compound can then react with oxygen to produce
elemental sulfur and a regenerated metal oxide. The primary metal oxides used for dry
sorption processes are iron oxide and zinc oxide.
3.2.1.1 Iron Sponge Process
The iron sponge process or dry box process is the oldest and still the most widely used
batch process for sweetening of natural gas and natural gas liquids. The process was
implemented during the 19th century. Large-scale, commercial operations have, for
the most part, discontinued this process due to the high labor costs of removing packed
beds. However, its simplicity, low capital costs, and relatively low media cost

continue to make the process an ideal solution for hydrogen sulfide removal. The
process is usually best applied to gases containing low to medium concentrations (300
ppm) of hydrogen sulfide or mercaptans. This process tends to be highly selective and
does not normally remove significant quantities of carbon dioxide. As a result, the
hydrogen sulfide stream from the process is usually high purity. Use of the iron
sponge process for sweetening sour gas is based on adsorption of the acid gases on the
surface of the solid sweetening agent followed by chemical reaction of ferric oxide
(Fe2O3) with hydrogen sulfide:
2Fe2O3 + 6H2S 2Fe2S3 + 6H2O
The reaction requires the presence of slightly alkaline water and a temperature below
43C (110F) and bed alkalinity should be checked regularly, usually on a daily basis.
A pH level on the order of 810 should be maintained through the injection of caustic
soda with the water. If the gas does not contain sufficient water vapor, water may need
to be injected into the inlet gas stream. The ferric sulfide produced by the reaction of
hydrogen sulfide with ferric oxide can be oxidized with air to produce sulfur and
regenerate the ferric oxide:
2Fe2S3 + 3O2 2Fe2O3 + 6S
S2 + 2O2 2SO2
The regeneration step, i.e., the reaction with oxygen, is exothermic and air must be
introduced slowly so the heat of reaction can be dissipated. If air is introduced quickly,
the heat of reaction may ignite the bed. Some of the elemental sulfur produced in the
regeneration step remains in the bed. After several cycles this sulfur will cake over the
ferric oxide, decreasing the reactivity of the bed. Typically, after 10 cycles the bed
must be removed and a new bed introduced into the vessel.
In some designs the iron sponge may be operated with continuous regeneration by
injecting a small amount of air into the sour gas feed. The air regenerates ferric sulfide

while hydrogen sulfide is removed by ferric oxide. This process is not as effective at
regenerating the bed as the batch process and requires a higher pressure air stream.
In the process as shown in Figure 3-7, the sour gas should pass down through the bed.
In the case where continuous regeneration is to be utilized, a small concentration of air
is added to the sour gas before it is processed. This air serves to regenerate the iron
oxide continuously, which has reacted with hydrogen sulfide, which serves to extend
the onstream life of a given tower but probably serves to decrease the total amount of
sulfur that a given weight of bed will remove. The number of vessels containing iron
oxide can vary from one to four. In a two-vessel process, one of the vessels would be
onstream removing hydrogen sulfide from the sour gas while the second vessel would
either be in the regeneration cycle or having the iron sponge bed replaced.

Figure 3-7 (Iron Sponge Process)
When periodic regeneration is used, a tower is operated until the bed is saturated with
sulfur and hydrogen sulfide begins to appear in the sweetened gas stream. At this point
the vessel is removed from service and air is circulated through the bed to regenerate
the iron oxide. Regardless of the type of regeneration process used, a given iron oxide
bed will lose activity gradually and eventually will be replaced. For this reason the
vessels in Figure 3-7 should be designed to minimize difficulties in replacing the iron
sponge in the beds.

Zinc Oxide Process
Zinc oxide is also used for hydrogen sulfide removal from the gas stream. The zinc
oxide media particles are extruded cylinders 34 mm in diameter and 48 mm in
length. This uniform sizing allows for relatively accurate pressure drop calculations in
designing reactors. The general reaction of zinc oxide with hydrogen sulfide is
ZnO + H2S ZnS + H2O
At increased temperatures (400 to 700F), zinc oxide has a rapid reaction rate,
therefore providing a short mass transfer zone, resulting in a short length of unused
bed and improved efficiency. At operating temperatures, the zinc oxide sorbent has a
maximum sulfur loading of 0.3 to 0.4 kg sulfur/kg sorbent. In large industrial plants,
this process achieves a high degree of efficiency, as the spent zinc oxide bed can be
used for metal and sulfur recovery.
Generally, the iron oxide process is suitable only for small to moderate quantities of
hydrogen sulfide. Approximately 90% of the hydrogen sulfide can be removed per
bed, but bed clogging by elemental sulfur occurs and the bed must be discarded, and
the use of several beds in series is not usually economical. Removal of larger amounts
of hydrogen sulfide from gas streams requires a continuous process, such as the ferrox
process or the Stretford process. The ferrox process is based on the same chemistry as
the iron oxide process except that it is fluid and continuous. The Stretford process
employs a solution containing vanadium salts and anthraquinone disulfonic acid.
3.2.2 Amine Processes
Chemical absorption processes with aqueous alkanolamine solutions are used for
treating gas streams containing hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. However,
depending on the composition and operating conditions of the feed gas, different
amines can be selected to meet the product gas specification.
Amines are categorized as being primary, secondary, and tertiary depending on the
degree of substitution of the central nitrogen by organic groups. Primary amines react

directly with
2
,
2
, and carbonyl sulfide (COS). Examples of primary amines
include monoethanolamine (MEA) and the proprietary diglycolamine agent (DGA).
Secondary amines react directly with
2
and
2
and react directly with some COS.
The most common secondry amine is diethanolamine (DEA), while
diisopropanolamine (DIPA) is another example of a secondary amine, which is not as
common anymore in amine-treating systems.
Tertiary amines react directly with
2
, react indirectly with
2
, and react indirectly
with little COS. The most common examples of tertiary amines are
methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and activated methyldiethanolamine. Processes using
ethanolamine and potassium phosphate are now widely used. The ethanolamine
process, known as the Girbotol process, removes acid gases (hydrogen sulfide and
carbon dioxide) from liquid hydrocarbons as well as from natural and from refinery
gases. The Girbotol treatment solution is an aqueous solution of ethanolamine, which
is an organic alkali that has the reversible property of reacting with hydrogen sulfide
under cool conditions and releasing hydrogen sulfide at high temperatures. The
ethanolamine solution fills a tower called an absorber through which the sour gas is
bubbled. Purified gas leaves the top of the tower, and the ethanolamine solution leaves
the bottom of the tower with the absorbed acid gases. The ethanolamine solution
enters a reactivator tower where heat drives the acid gases from the solution.
Ethanolamine solution, restored to its original condition, leaves the bottom of the
reactivator tower to go to the top of the absorber tower, and acid gases are released
from the top of the reactivator.
Depending on the application, special solutions such as mixtures of amines; amines
with physical solvents, such as sulfolane and piperazine; and amines that have been
partially neutralized with an acid such as phosphoric acid may also be used.
The proper selection of the amine can have a major impact on the performance and
cost of a sweetening unit. However, many factors must be considered when selecting

an amine for a sweetening application. Considerations for evaluating an amine type in
gas treating systems are numerous. It is important to consider all aspects of the amine
chemistry and type, as the ommision of a single issue may lead to operational issues.
MEA and DEA have found the most general application in the sweetening of natural
gas streams. Even though a DEA system may not be as efficient as some of the other
chemical solvents are, it may be less expensive to install because standard packaged
systems are readily available. In addition, it may be less expensive to operate and
maintain. MEA is a stable compound and, in the absence of other chemicals, suffers
no degradation or decomposition at temperatures up to its normal boiling point.
MEA reacts with H2S and CO2 as follow:
2(RNH2) + H2S (RNH)2S
(RNH3)2S + H2S 2(RNH3)HS
2(RNH2) + CO2 RNHCOONH3R
These reactions are reversible by changing the system temperature. MEA also reacts
with carbonyl COS and carbon disulfide (CS2) to form heat stable salts that cannot be
regenerated. DEA is a weaker base than MEA and therefore the DEA system does not
typically suffer the same corrosion problems but does react with hydrogen sulfide and
carbon dioxide:
2R2NH + H2S (R2NH)2S
(R2NH2)2S + H2S 2(R2NH2)HS
2R2NH + CO2 R2NCOONH2R2


Figure 3-8 (Amine Sweetening Process)
The general process flow diagram for an amine-sweetening plant varies little,
regardless of the aqueous amine solution used as the sweetening agent (Figure 3-8).
The sour gas containing
2
and/or
2
will nearly always enter the plant through an
inlet separator (scrubber) to remove any free liquids and/or entrained solids. The sour
gas then enters the bottom of the absorber column and flows upward through the
absorber in intimate countercurrent contact with the aqueous amine solution, where
the amine absorbs acid gas constituents from the gas stream. Sweetened gas leaving
the top of the absorber passes through an outlet separator and then flows to a
dehydration unit (and compression unit, if necessary) before being considered ready
for sale.
In many units the rich amine solution is sent from the bottom of the absorber to a flash
tank to recover hydrocarbons that may have dissolved or condensed in the amine
solution in the absorber. The rich solvent is then preheated before entering the top of
the stripper column. The amineamine heat exchanger serves as a heat conservation

device and lowers total heat requirements for the process. A part of the absorbed acid
gases will be flashed from the heated rich solution on the top tray of the stripper.
The remainder of the rich solution flows downward through the stripper in
countercurrent contact with vapor generated in the reboiler. The reboiler vapor
(primarily steam) strips the acid gases from the rich solution. The acid gases and the
steam leave the top of the stripper and pass overhead through a condenser, where the
major portion of the steam is condensed and cooled. The acid gases are separated in
the separator and sent to the flare or to processing. The condensed steam is returned to
the top of the stripper as reflux.
The lean amine solution from the bottom of the stripper column is pumped through an
amineamine heat exchanger and then through a cooler before being introduced to the
top of the absorber column. The amine cooler serves to lower the lean amine
temperature to the 100F range. Higher temperatures of the lean amine solution will
result in excessive amine losses through vaporization and also lower acid gas-carrying
capacity in the solution because of temperature effects.
Experience has shown that amine gas treatment is a fouling service. Particulates
formed in the plant as well as those transported into the plant can be very bothersome.
A filtration scheme of mechanical and activated carbon filters is therefore important in
maintaining good solution control. Mechanical filters such as cartridge filters or
precoat filters remove particulate material while carbon filters remove chemical
contaminants such as entrained hydrocarbons and surface-active compounds.


4 .Natural Gas Processing (II)
(Dehydration)
Dehydration (the main topic of this book) is being described in details in this chapter. Types,
equipments, process design are all discussed.

Natural, associated, or tail gas usually contains water, in liquid and/or vapor form, at
source and/or as a result of sweetening with an aqueous solution. Operating experience
and thorough engineering have proved that it is necessary to reduce and control the
water content of gas to ensure safe processing and transmission. The major reasons for
removing the water from natural gas are as follow.
1. Natural gas in the right conditions can combine with liquid or free water to form
solid hydrates that can plug valves fittings or even pipelines.
2. Water can condense in the pipeline, causing slug flow and possible erosion and
corrosion.
3. Water vapor increases the volume and decreases the heating value of the gas.
4. Sales gas contracts and/or pipeline specifications often have to meet the maximum
water content of 7 lb H2O per MMscf.
Pipeline drips installed near wellheads and at strategic locations along gathering and
trunk lines will eliminate most of the free water lifted from the wells in the gas stream.
Multistage separators can also be deployed to ensure the reduction of free water that
may be present. However, removal of the water vapor that exists in solution in natural
gas requires a more complex treatment. This treatment consists of dehydrating the
natural gas, which is accomplished by lowering the dew point temperature of the gas
at which water vapor will condense from the gas. There are several methods of
dehydrating natural gas.
The most common of these are liquid desiccant (glycol) dehydration, solid desiccant
dehydration, and refrigeration (i.e., cooling the gas). The first two methods utilize
mass transfer of the water molecule into a liquid solvent (glycol solution) or a
crystalline structure (dry desiccant). The third method employs cooling to condense
the water molecule to the liquid phase with the subsequent injection of inhibitor to
prevent hydrate formation. However, the choice of dehydration method is usually
between glycol and solid desiccants.

4.1.1 Water content determination
The first step in evaluating and/or designing a gas dehydration system is to determine
the water content of the gas. This datum is most important when one designs sour gas
dehydration facilities and estimates water production with sour gas in the plant inlet
separator. For most gas systems the McKetta and Wehe chart, generated from
empirical data, provides the standard for water content determination. This chart can
be used to predict the saturated water content of sweet, pipeline quality natural gas.
There are also several methods available for determining the water content of sour
natural gas at saturation. In general, for acid gas concentrations less than about 30%,
existing methods are satisfactory. For higher acid gas concentrations (above 50%),
particularly at higher pressures, existing methods can lead to serious errors in
estimating water contents. An appropriate method has been introduced by Wichert and
Wichert (2003). It is chart based and provides good estimates of the equilibrium water
vapor content of sour natural gas for a range of conditions, including H2S contents of
338 mole % with CO2 contents of 343 mole %, pressures from 290 to 10153 psia,
and temperatures from 50 to 347F. The overall average error of this method is less
than 1%. However, a few points showed a discrepancy of more than 10%.
4.1.2 Hydrates in natural gas systems
A hydrate is a physical combination of water and other small molecules to produce a
solid which has an ice-like appearance but possesses a different structure than ice.
Their formation in gas and/or NGL systems can plug pipelines, equipment, and
instruments, restricting or interrupting flow.
There are three recognized crystalline structures for such hydrates. In both, water
molecules build the lattice and hydrocarbons, nitrogen, CO
2
and H
2
S occupy the
cavities. Smaller molecules (CH
4
, C
2
H
6
, CO
2
, H
2
S) stabilize a body-centered cubic


Figure 4-1 (McKetta and Wehe Water content determination Chart)


Figure 4-2 (Effective water content of Hydrogen sulfide in natural gas mixture)

Figure 4-3 (Effective water content of Carbon Dioxide in natural gas mixture)

Called Structure I. Larger molecules (C
3
H
8
, i-C
4
H
10
, n-C
4
H
10
) form a diamond-lattice
called Structure II.
Normal paraffin molecules larger than n-C
4
H
10
do not form Structure I and II hydrates
as they are too large to stabilize the lattice. However, some isoparaffins and
cycloalkanes larger than pentane are known to form Structure II hydrates.
Gas composition determines structure type. Mixed gases will typically form Structure
II. Limiting hydrate numbers (ratio of water molecules to molecules of included
gaseous component) are calculated using the size of the gas molecules and the size of
the cavities in H2O lattice.
From a practical viewpoint, the structure type does not affect the appearance,
properties, or problems caused by the hydrate. It does, however, have a significant
effect on the pressure and temperature at which hydrates form. Structure II hydrates
are more stable than Structure I. This is why gases containing C3H8 and i-C4H10 will
form hydrates at higher temperatures than similar gas mixtures which do not contain
these components. The presence of H
2
S in natural gas mixtures results in a
substantially warmer hydrate formation temperature at a given pressure. CO
2
, in
general, has a much smaller impact and often reduces the hydrate formation
temperature at fixed pressure for a hydrocarbon gas mixture. The conditions which
affect hydrate formation are:
Primary Considerations
Gas or liquid must be at or below its water dew point or saturation condition
(NOTE: liquid water does not have to be present for hydrates to form)
Temperature
Pressure
Composition

Secondary Considerations
Mixing
Kinetics
Physical site for crystal formation and agglomeration such as a pipe elbow,
orifice, thermo well, or line scale
Salinity

In general, hydrate formation will occur as pressure increases and/or temperature
decreases to the formation condition.

Hydrate Prediction Based on Composition for Sweet Gases
Several correlations have proven useful for predicting hydrate formation of sweet
gases and gases containing minimal amounts of CO
2
and/or H
2
S. The most reliable
ones require a gas analysis. The Katz method utilizes vapor solid equilibrium
constants defined by the following equation:

Equation 4-1
WARNI NG: Not good for pure components only mixtures. The applicable K-value
correlations for the hydrate forming molecules (methane, ethane, propane, isobutane,
normal butane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide) are shown in Figure 6-8 Vapor-
Solid Equilibrium Constants for Methane to Figure 6-14 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium
Constants for Hydrogen Sulfide. Normal butane cannot form a hydrate by itself but
can contribute to hydrate formation in a mixture.
For calculation purposes, all molecules too large to form hydrates have a K-value of
infinity. These include all normal paraffin hydrocarbon molecules larger than normal

butane. Nitrogen is assumed to be a non-hydrate former and is also assigned a K-value
of infinity. The Kvs values are used in a dewpoint equation to determine the hydrate
temperature or pressure. The calculation is iterative and convergence is achieved when
the following objective function is satisfied:
= 1
=
=1

Equation 4-2
Hydrate Predictions for High CO2/H2S Content Gases
The Katz method of predicting hydrate formation temperature gives reasonable results
for sweet normal paraffin hydrocarbon gases. The Katz method should not be used for
gases containing significant quantities of CO
2
and/or H
2
S despite the fact that Kvs
values are available for these components. Hydrate formation conditions for high CO
2

/H
2
S gases can vary significantly from those composed only of hydrocarbons. The
addition of H
2
S to a sweet natural gas mixture will generally increase the hydrate
formation temperature at a fixed pressure. A method by Baille & Wichert for
predicting the temperature of high H
2
S content gases is shown in Figure 4-5. This is
based on the principle of adjusting the propane hydrate conditions to account for the
presence of H
2
S as illustrated in the following steps:
1. Enter left side of Figure 4-4 at 600 psia and proceed to the H2S concentration
line.
2. Proceed down vertically to the specific gravity of the gas
3. Follow the diagonal guide line to the temperature at the bottom of the graph.
4. Apply the C
3
correction using the insert at the upper left.
5. Enter the left hand side at the H2S concentration and proceed to the C
3

concentration line. Proceed down vertically to the system pressure and read the
correction on the left hand scale (2.7F)
Note: The C
3
temperature correction is negative when on the left hand side of the
graph and positive on the right hand side.


Figure 4-4 Chart for Gases Containing H2S

4.1.3 Hydrate Inhibition
The formation of hydrates can be prevented by dehydrating the gas or liquid to
eliminate the formation of a condensed water (liquid or solid) phase. In some cases,
however, dehydration may not be practical or economically feasible. In these cases,
inhibition can be an effective method of preventing hydrate formation.

Inhibition utilizes injection of one of the glycols or methanol into a process stream
where it can combine with the condensed aqueous phase to lower the hydrate
formation temperature at a given pressure. Both glycol and methanol can be recovered
with the aqueous phase, regenerated and reinjected. For continuous injection in
services down to 40F, one of the glycols usually offers an economic advantage
versus methanol recovered by distillation. At cryogenic conditions (below 40F)
methanol usually is preferred because glycols viscosity makes effective separation
difficult.
Ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and triethylene glycol (TEG) glycols
have been used for hydrate inhibition. The most popular has been ethylene glycol
because of its lower cost, lower viscosity, and lower solubility in liquid hydrocarbons.
To be effective, the inhibitor must be present at the very point where the wet gas is
cooled to its hydrate temperature. For example, in refrigeration plants glycol inhibitors
are typically sprayed on the tube-sheet faces of the gas exchangers so that it can flow
with the gas through the tubes. As water condenses, the inhibitor is present to mix with
the water and prevent hydrates. Injection must be in a manner to allow good
distribution to every tube or plate pass in chillers and heat exchangers operating below
the gas hydrate temperature. The inhibitor and condensed water mixture is separated
from the gas stream along with a separate liquid hydrocarbon stream. At this point, the
water dew point of the gas stream is essentially equal to the separation temperature.
Glycol-water solutions and liquid hydrocarbons can emulsify when agitated or when
expanded from a high pressure to a lower pressure, e.g., JT expansion valve. Careful
separator design will allow nearly complete recovery of the diluted glycol for
regeneration and reinjection. Figure 4-6 shows a flow diagram for a typical EG
injection system in a refrigeration plant. The regenerator in a glycol injection system
should be operated to produce a regenerated glycol solution that will have a freezing
point below the minimum temperature encountered in the system. This is typically 75-
80 wt%.

The minimum inhibitor concentration in the free water phase may be approximated by
Hammerschmidts equation:
=
2335
(1
)

Equation 4-3
Equation 4-3 should not be used beyond 20-25 wt% for methanol and 60-70 wt% for
the glycols.
For methanol concentrations up to about 50%, the Nielsen-Bucklin equation provides
better accuracy:
= 129.6 ln(
)
Equation 4-4
Note that
in Equation 4-4 is a mole fraction, not a mass fraction.

Once the required inhibitor concentration has been calculated, the mass of inhibitor
required in the water phase may be calculated from Equation 4-5

Equation 4-5
The amount of inhibitor to be injected not only must be sufficient to prevent freezing
of the inhibitor water phase, but also must be sufficient to provide for the equilibrium
vapor phase content of the inhibitor and the solubility of the inhibitor in any liquid
hydrocarbon. The vapor pressure of methanol is high enough that significant quantities
will vaporize. Glycol vaporization losses are generally very small and are typically
ignored in calculations.
Methanol left in the gas phase can be recovered by condensation with the remaining
water in downstream chilling processes. Likewise, the methanol in the condensate
phase can be recovered by water by downstream water washing.


Figure 4-5 Hydrate Chart for Gases Containing H2S


Figure 4-6 Typical Glycol Injection System
4.1.4 Adsorption: Solid-Bed Dehydration
When very low dew points are required, solid-bed dehydration becomes the logical
choice. It is based on fixed-bed adsorption of water vapor by a selected desiccant. A
number of solid desiccants could be used such as silica gel, activated alumina, or
molecular sieves. The properties of these materials are shown in Table 2. The selection
of these solids depends on economics. The most important property is the capacity of
the desiccant, which determines the loading design expressed as the percentage of
water to be adsorbed by the bed. The capacity decreases as temperature increases.
Adsorption is defined as the ability of a substance to hold gases or liquids on its
surface. In adsorption dehydration, the water vapor from the gas is concentrated and
held at the surface of the solid desiccant by forces caused by residual valiancy. Solid
desiccants have very large surface areas per unit weight to take advantage of these
surface forces. The most common solid adsorbents used today are silica, alumina, and
certain silicates known as molecular sieves. Dehydration plants can remove practically
all water from natural gas using solid desiccants. Because of their great drying ability,
solid desiccants are employed where higher efficiencies are required.

Table 4-1(Properties of Different Desiccants)
Desiccant reference Silica gel Activated alumina Molecular sieves
Pore diameter (A ) 1090 15 3, 4, 5, 10
Bulk density (lb/ft3) 45 4448 4347
Heat capacity (Btu/lbF) 0.22 0.24 0.23
Minimum dew point (F) -60 to -90 -60 to -90 -100 to -300
Design capacity (wt%) 420 1115 816
Regeneration stream
temp. (F)
300500 350500 425550
Heat of adsorption (Btu/lb)
- -
1800

Figure 4-7 depicts a typical solid desiccant dehydration plant. The incoming wet gas
should be cleaned by a filter separator to remove solid and liquid contaminants in the
gas. The filtered gas flows downward during dehydration through one adsorber
containing a desiccant bed. The down-flow arrangement reduces disturbance of the
bed caused by the high gas velocity during the adsorption. While one adsorber is
dehydrating, the other adsorber is being regenerated by a hot stream of inlet gas from
the regeneration gas heater. A direct-fired heater, hot oil, steam, or an indirect heater
can supply the necessary regeneration heat. The regeneration gas usually flows
upward through the bed to ensure thorough regeneration of the bottom of the bed,
which is the last area contacted by the gas being dehydrated. The hot regenerated bed
is cooled by shutting off or bypassing the heater. The cooling gas then flows
downward through the bed so that any water adsorbed from the cooling gas will be at
the top of the bed and will not be desorbed into the gas during the dehydration step.
The still hot regeneration gas and the cooling gas flow through the regeneration gas
cooler to condense the desorbed water. Power-operated valves activated by a timing
device switch the adsorbers between the dehydration, regeneration, and cooling steps.
Under normal operating conditions, the usable life of a desiccant ranges from one to
four years. Solid desiccants become less effective in normal use due to loss of
effective surface area as they age. Abnormally fast degradation occurs through
blockage of the small pores and capillary openings from lubricating oils, amines,

glycols, corrosion inhibitors, and other contaminants, which cannot be removed during
the regeneration cycle. Hydrogen sulfide can also damage the desiccant and reduce its
capacity.

Figure 4-7 (Solid Desiccant dehydration process)
Advantages of solid-desiccant dehydration include:
Lower dew point, essentially dry gas (water content less than 1.0 Ib/MMcf) can
be produced.
higher contact temperatures can be tolerated with some adsorbents
higher tolerance to sudden load changes, especially on startup
quick startup after a shutdown
high adaptability for recovery of certain liquid hydrocarbons in addition to
dehydration functions

Operating problems with the solid-desiccant dehydration include:
Space adsorbents degenerate with use and require replacement.
Dehydrating tower must be regenerated and cooled for operation before another
tower approaches exhaustion. The maximum allowable time on dehydration
gradually shortens because desiccant loses capacity with use.

Although this type of dehydrator has high adaptability to sudden load changes, sudden
pressure surges should be avoided because they may upset the desiccant bed and
channel the gas stream resulting in poor dehydration.
If a plant is operated above its rated capacity, high-pressure loss may cause some
attrition to occur. Attrition causes fines, which may in turn cause excessive pressure
loss and result in loss of capacity. Replacing the desiccant should be scheduled and
completed ahead of the operating season. To maintain continuous operation, this may
require discarding the desiccant before its normal operating life is reached. To cut
operating costs, the inlet part of the tower can be recharged and the remainder of the
desiccant retained because it may still possess some useful life. Additional service life
of the desiccant may be obtained if the direction of gas flow is reversed at a time when
the tower would normally be recharged.

4.1.5 Glycol Dehydration
Among the different gas drying processes, absorption is the most common technique,
where the water vapor in the gas stream becomes absorbed in a liquid solvent stream.
Glycols are the most widely used absorption liquids as they approximate the properties
that meet commercial application criteria. Several glycols have been found suitable for
commercial application.
The commonly available glycols1 and their uses are described as follows:
1. Monoethylene glycol (MEG); high vapor equilibrium with gas so tend to lose to gas
phase in contactor. Use as hydrate inhibitor where it can be recovered from gas by
separation at temperatures below 50F.
2. Diethylene glycol (DEG); high vapor pressure leads to high losses in contactor.
Low decomposition temperature requires low reconcentrator temperature (315 to
340F) and thus cannot get pure enough for most applications.

3. Triethylene glycol (TEG); most common. Reconcentrate at 340400F, for high
purity. At contactor temperatures in excess of 120F, there is a tendency to high vapor
losses. Dewpoint depressions up to 150F are possible with stripping gas.
4. Tetraethylene glycol (TREG); more expensive than TEG but less loss at high gas
contact temperatures. Reconcentrate at 400 to 430F.
TEG is by far the most common liquid desiccant used in natural gas dehydration. It
exhibits most of the desirable criteria of commercial suitability listed here.
1. TEG is regenerated more easily to a concentration of 9899% in an atmospheric
stripper because of its high boiling point and decomposition temperature.
2. TEG has an initial theoretical decomposition temperature of 404F, whereas that of
diethylene glycol is only 328F.
3. Vaporization losses are lower than monoethylene glycol or diethylene glycol.
Therefore, the TEG can be regenerated easily to the high concentrations needed to
meet pipeline water dew point specifications.
4. Capital and operating costs are lower.
Natural gas dehydration with TEG is the main topic of this book and discussed in
details in the following section.
As shown in Figure 4-8, wet natural gas first typically enters an inlet separator to
remove all liquid hydrocarbons from the gas stream. Then the gas flows to an absorber
(contactor) where it is contacted countercurrently and dried by the lean TEG. TEG
also absorbs volatile organic compounds (VOCs2) that vaporize with the water in the
reboiler. Dry natural gas exiting the absorber passes through a gas/glycol heat
exchanger and then into the sales line. The wet or rich glycol exiting the absorber
flows through a coil in the accumulator where it is preheated by hot lean glycol. After
the glycolglycol heat exchanger, the rich glycol enters the stripping column and
flows down the packed bed section into the reboiler. Steam generated in the reboiler

strips absorbed water and VOCs out of the glycol as it rises up the packed bed. The
water vapor and desorbed natural gas are vented from the top of the stripper. The hot
regenerated lean glycol flows out of the reboiler into the accumulator (surge tank)
where it is cooled via cross exchange with returning rich glycol; it is pumped to a
glycol/gas heat exchanger and back to the top of the absorber.

Figure 4-8 (TEG Dehydration Process)
The simple flow diagram shown in Figure 4-8 is typical of small gas dehydration units
where unattended operation is the prime concern. Larger units are monitored daily and
the efficiency and operational cost are improved by the additional equipment, shown
in Figure 4-8, where:
1. Rich glycol leaves the absorber and enters a cooling coil that controls the water
reflux rate at the top of the stripper. This temperature control ensures that the water
vapor leaving the still does not carry over excess glycol.

2. Heat exchange between the cool rich glycol and the hot lean glycol is improved by
using two or more shell and tube heat exchangers in series. The increased heat
recovery reduces fuel consumption in the reboiler and protects the glycol circulation
pump from being overheated, it also allows the flash tank and filter to operate at
approximately 150F. Higher flash temperatures will ensure maximum entrained gas to
be removed from the rich TEG.
3. Rich glycol is flashed to remove dissolved hydrocarbons. The latter can be used for
fuel and/or stripping gas.
4. The rich glycol is filtered before being heated in the reconcentrator. This prevents
impurities such as solids and heavy hydrocarbons from plugging the packed column
and fouling the reboiler fire tube.
Design Considerations
More detailed information about each equipment operation and design used in a TEG
dehydration unit is described as follow:
Absorber (Contactor)
The incoming wet gas and the lean TEG are contacted counter currently in the
absorber to reduce the water content of the gas to the required specifications. (In an
ethylene glycol system, glycol is injected directly into the natural gas stream;
therefore, an absorber is not used.) The key design parameters for the absorber are:
Gas flow rate and specific gravity
Gas temperature
Operating pressure (gas pressure)
Outlet dew point or water content required
The amount of water to be removed in a TEG system is calculated from the gas flow
rate, the water content of incoming gas, and the desired water content of outgoing gas.
The water removal rate, assuming the inlet gas is water saturated, can be determined
as:

)
24

Equation 4-6
where Wr is water removed, lb/hr; Wi is water content of inlet gas, lb/MMscf; Wo is
water content of outlet gas, lb/MMscf; and QG gas flow rate, MMscfd.
The glycol circulation rate is determined on the basis of the amount of water to be
removed and is usually between 2 and 6 gallons of TEG per pound of water removed,
with 3 gallons TEG/lb water being typical. Higher circulation rates provide little
additional dehydration while increasing reboiler fuel and pumping requirements.
Problems can arise if the TEG circulation rate is too low; therefore, a certain amount
of over circulation is desired. An excessive circulation rate may overload the reboiler
and prevent good glycol regeneration. The heat required by the reboiler is directly
proportional to the circulation rate. Thus, an increase in circulation rate may decrease
reboiler temperature, decreasing lean glycol concentration, and actually decrease the
amount of water that is removed by the glycol from the gas. Only if the reboiler
temperature remains constant will an increase in circulation rate lower the dew point
of the gas. An overly restricted circulation rate can also cause problems with tray
hydraulics, contactor performance, and fouling of glycol-to-glycol heat exchangers.
Therefore, operators should include a margin of safety, or comfort zone, when
calculating reductions in circulation rates. An optimal circulation rate for each
dehydration unit typically ranges from 10 to 30% above the minimum circulation rate.
The minimum glycol circulation rate can then be calculated as:
,
=

Equation 4-7
Where
,
is the minimum TEG circulation rate (gal TEG/hr) and G is the
glycol-to-water ratio (gal TEG/lb water removed). The industry accepted rule of
thumb is 3 gallons of TEG per pound of water removed.

Figure 4-9 shows the effect of TEG concentration and circulation rate on dew point
depression for a fixed amount of absorber contact.

Figure 4-9 (Effect of TEG conc. And circulation rate on dew point depression)
The diameter of the absorber and the number of absorber stages are selected on the
basis of the gas and glycol flow rates and gas-specific gravity. The diameter of the
contactor (absorber) can be estimated from the Souders and Brown correlation as
follows:
=
4
2

Equation 4-8
Where D is internal diameter of glycol contactor, ft;
is gas volumetric flow rate,

ft3/hr;
is maximum superficial gas velocity, ft/hr;
is Souders and Brown

coefficient, ft/hr;
is glycol density, lb/

3
; and
is gas density at column

condition, lb/
3
.
Traditionally, the glycol absorber contains 612 trays that provide an adequate contact
area between the gas and the glycol. The more trays, the greater the dew point
depression for a constant glycol circulation rate and lean glycol concentration.

Conversely, specifying more trays with the same TEG concentration, a lower
circulation rate is required. By specifying more trays, fuel savings can be realized
because the heat duty of the reboiler is directly related to the glycol circulation rate.
Once the lean TEG concentration has been established, the TEG circulation rate and
number of trays (height of packing) must be determined. Most economical designs
employ circulation rates of about 2-5 gal. TEG/lb H2O absorbed. The relationship
between circulation rate and number of equilibrium stages has been presented in
Figure 4-10 through Figure 4-14.
Overall tray efficiencies between 25 and 40% have been recommended for design. The
standard tray spacing in glycol contactors is 24 inches; closer spacing increases glycol
losses if foaming occurs because of greater entrainment. The total height of the
contactor column will be based on the number of trays required plus an additional 6
10 ft to allow space for a vapor disengagement area above the top tray and an inlet gas
area at the bottom of the column.
One option to the trayed TEG contactor is the use of structured packing. The
combination of high gas capacity and reduced height of an equilibrium stage,
compared with trayed contactors, makes the application of structured packing
desirable for both new contactor designs and existing trayed-contactor capacity
upgrades. Hence, the structured packing may offer potential cost savings over trays.
The absorber is usually vertical to allow proper glycol flow with sufficient gas/liquid
contact and operates at the pressure of the incoming gas. A demister pad or mist
eliminator at the top of the absorber or a separator vessel following the absorber can
reduce glycol losses by preventing glycol from being carried out with the dry gas.


Figure 4-10 Water Removal vs. TEG circulation rate at various TEG concentrations (N=1.0)

Figure 4-11 TEG circulation rate at various TEG concentrations (N=1.5)





Still (Stripper)
The still or stripper column is used in conjunction with the reboiler to regenerate the
glycol. On many dehydrators, the still is placed vertically on top of the reboiler so that
vapor from the reboiler directly enters the bottom of the distillation column. A given
lean TEG concentration is produced in the reboiler and still column (regenerator)
section by the control of reboiler temperature, pressure, and the possible use of a
stripping gas. As shown in Figure 4-15 (Effect of reboiler temperature and pressure on
TEG purity), the reboiler temperature controls the concentration of the water in the
lean glycol.
Reboiler temperatures for TEG are limited to 400F, which limits the maximum lean
glycol concentration without stripping gas. Some operators limit the reboiler
temperature to between 370 and 390F to minimize degradation of the glycol. This
effectively limits the lean glycol concentration to between 98.5 and 98.9%.
1. There are improved regeneration techniques that have higher glycol
concentration and, therefore, lower treated gas dew points. By injecting dry

(stripping) gas into the base of the glycol reboiler in order to
strip off water vapor from the glycol by reducing the vapor partial pressure and
2. Agitate the glycol to accelerate the release of water vapor.
TEG concentration increases from 99.1 to 99.6% by weight. A dry gas injection
process can be enhanced using a packed column of countercurrent gas stripping, which
increases the capability of TEG for gas dehydration by reconcentrating the glycol to as
high as 99.6%.
The diameter of the still is based on the liquid load (rich glycol and reflux) and the
vapor load (water vapour and stripping gas). Manufacturerschart or standard sizes
based on the required reboiler heat load may be used to determine the column
diameter.
Alternatively, the following approximate equation is used:
= 9(
)
0.5

Equation 4-9
Where
is TEG circulation rate, gal/min; and D is inside diameter of stripping

column, inch. Smaller diameter towers (less than 2 ft in diameter) are often packed
with ceramic Intalox saddles or stainless steel Pall rings instead of trays.
Larger-diameter towers may be designed with 10 to 20 bubble cap trays or structured
packing.
To prevent excessive glycol losses from vaporization at the top of the still column,
reflux is controlled by a condenser maintained at about 215F or lower if stripping gas
is used. A few larger gas dehydration units may use a tubular water-cooled condenser
with temperature control. Temperature control can also be obtained by circulating cool
rich glycol through a reflux coil inside the top of the stripping column. This system
normally includes a bypass valve that allows the operator to better control the
temperature at the top of the column.

Reboiler
The reboiler and still are typically a single piece of equipment. The reboiler supplies
heat to regenerate the rich glycol in the still by simple distillation. The separation is
relatively easy because of the wide difference in boiling points of water and glycol.
Most remote field locations use a direct-fired firebox to provide the heat for
vaporization. A horizontal U-shaped firetube fires a portion of the natural gas or draws
from the fuel gas system, which may include flash gas from the phase separator. Some
sites have also burned non-condensable vent gas from their condenser system in the
reboiler, although there are safety concerns associated with this practice. Larger
dehydrator systems (such as at gas plants) may use indirect heat sources such as
dowtherm heat transfer fluid (hot oil), electricity, or medium pressure steams. Reboiler
duty can be estimated by the following equation:
= 900 +966()
Equation 4-10
Where QR is regenerator duty, Btu/lb H2O removed; and G is glycol-to-water ratio,
gal TEG/lb H2O removed. This estimate does not include stripping gas and makes no
allowance for combustion efficiency.

The reboiler normally operates at a temperature of 350 to 400F for a TEG system;
this temperature controls the lean glycol water concentration. The purity of the lean
glycol can be increased by raising the reboiler temperature, but TEG starts to
decompose at 404F. The reboiler should not be operated above 400F to allow a
safety margin to prevent decomposition, and the burner should have a high
temperature shutdown for safety.


Figure 4-15 (Effect of reboiler temperature and pressure on TEG purity)
Normally, a conventional reboiler operating at slightly above atmospheric pressure can
provide TEG with a purity of 98.7% at 400F, which is sufficient for an 85F dew
point depression. The heat flux in the reboiler must be high enough for vaporization,
but not so high as to cause glycol decomposition. For a typical TEG reboiler with a
bulk temperature of 400F, a design heat flux of 8000 Btu/(fr2.hr) is recommended.
4.1.5.1.1 Surge Tank (Accumulator)
Lean glycol from the reboiler is routed through an overflow pipe or weir to a surge
tank or accumulator. Because this vessel is not insulated in many cases, the lean glycol
is cooled to some extent via heat loss from the shell. The surge tank may also contain
a glycol/glycol heat exchanger. If the surge tank contains the glycol/glycol heat
exchanger, the tank should be sized to allow a 30-minute retention time for the lean
glycol. Some designs also provide for a separate lean glycol storage tank. The storage
tank, when used as a surge tank, may be vented to allow accumulated gases to escape
or is sometimes fitted with an inert gas blanket to prevent the oxygen from contacting
the glycol and causing oxidation. Venting from the surge tank is only a minor
emission source because the lean glycol has already been stripped of most VOCs in
the still.

Glycol/Glycol Exchanger
A glycol/glycol exchanger cools the lean glycol while preheating the rich glycol. It
may be an external exchanger or may be located within the surge tank (an integral
exchanger). For small standard designs, the integral exchanger is economical to
fabricate but may not heat the rich glycol above 200F. Types of external glycol/glycol
exchangers include the following:
Insulated double pipe with finned inner pipe.
Shell and tube.
Plate and frame type.
All three types of external heat exchangers can preheat the rich glycol to about 300F.
The 100F preheat improvement possible with an externalexchanger reduces the
reboiler duty by approximately 600 Btu/gallon.
Dry Gas/Lean Glycol Exchanger
This type of exchanger uses the exiting dry natural gas to control the lean glycol
temperature to the absorber. High glycol temperatures relative to the gas temperature
reduce the moisture-absorption capacity of TEG. Conversely, temperatures that are too
low promote glycol loss due to foaming and increase the glycols hydrocarbon uptake
and potential still-vent emissions.Heat exchangers can be sized using conventional
design procedures.
Typical guidelines are as follows:
1. GlycolGlycol Exchanger:
a. Design duty is calculated as design requirement plus 5% for fouling and flow
variations.
b. The entering temperatures of the lean and rich glycol streams are known; a
hot end (lean glycol inrich glycol out) temperature approach of 60F maximizes the
preheat of the rich glycol.

c. Two or more heat exchangers should be placed in series to avoid any
temperature cross. In smaller units, the exchanger may be replaced by a surge tank and
heat transfer coil.
The shell volume is based on a 30-minutes retention time, an L/D ratio of 4, and a
minimum size of D = 1.5 ft, L = 3.5 ft.
2. Lean Glycol/Dry Gas Exchanger
a. The lean glycol outlet temperature should be 510F hotter than the inlet gas
temperature to the absorber. Therefore, the lean glycol is cooled from 180200F to
110120F. This may be accomplished in (1) a double pipe exchanger for smaller
units (less than 25 MMscfd) and (2) an aerial, fin-fan exchanger or a water-cooled,
shell and tube exchanger for larger units (greater than 25 MMscfd).
b. The design heat duty must provide for a 5 to 10% allowance for fouling and
flow variations.
Phase Separator (Flash Tank)
Many glycol dehydration units contain an emissions separator and a three phase
vacuum separator. An emissions separator removes dissolved gases from the warm
rich glycol (about 90% of the methane and 10 to 40% of the VOCs entrained in the
glycol) and reduces VOC emissions from the still. The wet or rich glycol is flashed at
50100 psia and 100150F.
A three-phase vacuum separator is desirable if liquid hydrocarbons are present. This
allows the liquid hydrocarbon to be removed before it enters the still, where it could
result in emissions or cause excess glycol losses from the still vent. Recommended
liquid retention times are 5 to 10 minutes for two-phase (gas-glycol) and 2030
minutes for three-phase (gasliquid hydrocarbonglycol) separation.

Glycol Circulation Pumps
A circulation pump is used to move the glycol through the unit. The gas/glycol pump
is common in field TEG dehydrators where electricity is typically not available. This
type of pump uses the high-pressure glycol leaving the absorber to provide part of its
required driving energy. Gas, taken under pressure from the absorber, is used to
supply the remaining driving energy. A reciprocating pump is sized using
manufacturers catalogs or by the standard mechanical energy balance and an assumed
pump efficiency of 7080%. The temperature rise through the pump may be estimated
by increasing the glycol enthalpy by the pump work. The BS&B Company (1960)
recommends the following quick estimates based on 80% pump efficiency and 90%
motor efficiency:
=

()
1,714

Equation 4-11
Where
is TEG circulation rate, gal/min; and P is system pressure, psig; E is

efficiency.
Filters
Two types of filters are commonly used in glycol systems. Fabric filters (e.g., sock)
are used to remove particulate matter, and carbon filters are used to adsorb dissolved
organic impurities from the glycol.


Figure 4-16 (Effect of stripping gas rate on purity of TEG)


5 .Process Design
Design and calculations of a gas dehydration unit. Including: absorber, reboiler, reconcentrator,
heat exchanger and glycol pump.

5.1 Data Given:
Natural Gas Stream:
Temperature: 113F
Pressure: 70 barg
Flow rate: 100MMScfd

Composition:

SUM
Xi
0.0052 0.0964 0.7565 0.0827 0.0339 0.0060 0.0093 0.0030 0.0027 0.0043 1.0000

Tri Ethylene Glycol:
Purity 99.5%
Density . lb/ft
3

5.2 General Calculations
Composition Xi Mwt Y*Mwt Tc Yi*Tc Pc Yi*Pc
0.0052 28.000 0.14560 227.29 1.18190 493.0 2.56400
0.0964 44.000 4.24160 547.57 52.7860 1071 103.244
0.7565 16.040 12.1343 343.06 259.525 668.0 505.342
0.0827 30.070 2.48680 550.00 45.4850 780.0 58.5520
0.0339 44.100 1.49500 666.00 22.5774 616.0 20.8824

0.0060 58.120 0.35450 735.00 4.48400 529.0 3.22700

0.0093 58.120 0.45050 766.00 7.12400 551.0 5.12400

0.0030 72.150 0.21645 829.00 2.48700 490.0 1.47000

0.0027 72.150 0.19480 846.00 2.28400 498.0 1.34500
0.0043 86.178 0.37060 923.00 3.96900 437.0 1.87900

SUM 1.0000 22.1608 401.900 703.63

Apparent molecular weight = 22.1804
Tc = 401.9 R
Pc = 703.63 psia
Specific gravity =

=
22.1801
28.97
= 0.7656
5.2.1 Correction for non-hydrocarbons

pc'
=
pc
+440
co2
170
N2
= 745.162

pc'
=
cp
80
co2
250
N2
= 392.89
0

= 70 = 70 14.7 = 1030.34

pr
=

pc'
=
1030.34
745.162
= 1.383

pr
=

pc'
=
113+460
392.89
= 1.458
From Figure 2-1 (Standing and Katz Compressibility factor
chart) = 0.84

g
=
2.7.
= 4.425

3

5.2.2 Calculating

st
=

operating

14.7100
1520
=
1030.34
5.730.84

= 1.321
5.3 Determination of Water content
From Figure 4-1 (McKetta and Wehe Water content determination
Chart)
Because
4
> 70% ( < 40%)

= 85

2
= 90

= 90 0.0964 +84.15 1 0.0964 =
84.714

inlet
= 84.714 100 = 8471.4

outlet
= 7 100 = 700

=
inlet

outlet
= 8471.4 700 =
7771.4
water

5.4 Glycol circulation calculations
Using (3

2
)

[
1
] at lean glycol concentrations = 99.5%
= 23314.2

= 3116.8865

3
= 3116.8865
69.764 = 217446.47

= 0.005 217446.47 = 1087.2324

5.5 Water material balance
=
+ = +

8471.4 +0.005 217446.47 = 700 +
= 8858.63

= 0.995 217446.47

= 96.07 %
= 23314.2

= 16.19

1
Handbook of Natural Gas Transmission & Processing

5.6 Design for tray tower

=
7771.4
8471.4
= 0.92
Using Figure 4-10 through Figure 4-14 (By TEG purity=99.5% & 3
gal/lb water)
No. Of
Theoretical
trays

1 0.85
1.5 0.91
2 0.95
2.5 0.97
3 0.972

Choosing (N=2) two theoretical trays.
Tray efficiency = 25%
=

=
2
0.25
=
8
= 24 = 2
= 2 7 +2 2 = 18

=

4


= 576
[
2
]
l = 69.764
3

g = 4.425
3

D=5.628 ft = 6 ft (Standard)
=
Height of internal scrubber = 1*D = 6 ft
Height of glycol mist extractor = 1*D = 6 ft
= 14 +6 +6 = 24

2
GPSA 1998

5.7 Reboiler duty

From Equation 4-10

= 900 +966()
= 7771.4

= 3

water
= 862

glycol

= [900 +9663

water
] 7771.4

= 29.5 10
6

=
1,229,824

5.8 Stripping column design

inch
=
TEG
0.5
= 4 16.2
0.5
= 16.095 = 1.34 =
1.5
One 316 L stripper column with structured packing
Size 304 mm ID *2440 mm s / s
Design 3.5 bar At 235
0
C
5.9 The column internals
The column to be filled with 1.5 inch 304 ss pall rings
Removable inlet glycol liquid distributer 304 ss
Removable packing support plate 304 ss
Removable reflux collector / distributer plate
1 inch spurge gas pipe
Stripping gas flow rate calculation

R
= 390 = 99.5%
. = 1
Figure 4-16 (Effect of stripping gas rate on purity of TEG)
= 1.6

5.10 Heat exchangers
Data
1
= 230
2
= 314

3
= 390
4
= ? ? ?
Lean glycol composition

TEG
=
0.995

69.856

3
7.48
= 9.292

TEG

lean glycol

H2o
= 1 0.995 62.4

3
7.48
= 0.0417

H2O

lean glycol

Rich glycol composition

TEG
= 9.292

TEG

Rich glycol

H2o
= 0.0417 +1

H2O

glycol
= 0.375

H2O

rich glycol

% = 96.07%
Lean glycol flow rate

Lean TEG
= 9.292 +0.0417 16.2 60 = 9072.3564

Rich glycol flow rate

Rich TEG
= 9.292 +0.375

16.2

60
=
9396.324

From fig( 20-38) GPSA

P
= 0.6313
230

P
= 0.655
314

Pav
=
0.61+0.63
2
= 0.643


Rich
=
P
= 9396.324

0.643
314 230 =
507514.252

For lean glycol
Assume
4
= 310

av
=
390+310
2
= 350

P
350= 0.6652

Lean
= 9072.3564 0.6652 80 = 482794.52

Rich

4
= 300

av
= 345
P
= 0.6651

Lean
= 542980.53

Rich
By interpolation
300
310 300
=
542960.53 507514.252
482794.52 542980.53
= 305.89
Physical properties
Property Rich (cold stream) in tube side
96.06%
Lean (hot stream ) in shell side
99.5%
W 9396.324 9072.3564
av
272 348
P
0.643 0.665
Sp.gr (20-
23)
1.033 0.986
(fig 20-35) 1.93 cp = 4.67 lb/ft.hr 2 cp = 4.84 lb/ft.hr
K 0.09 0.11

Correction factor
=

2
1
=
314230
390230
= 0.525
=

3

4
1
=
390306
314230
= 1.012
= 0.751 = 75.1%

lm
=

max
min
ln
max/
min
=
7675
76
75
= 75.5

lm corrected
= 75.5 0.751 = 56.7

Area calculation
= 20 10 17
=

lm
=
507514.252
2056.7
= 447.5431
2
Layout
1 . 14 = 16 =
1.25
> 350

tubes
=

0.2618
eff
= 110.289 = 114
6

tubes
= 114
pass
=
114
6
= 19

i

=
9393.3
194.70.0545
= 1930.67

= 230

h
= 8.7

i
=
h
= 36.35

io
=
i
o
= 36.35
0.834
1
= 30.31

o

=
12
= 12
16
19
= 11

s
=

144
=
180.2511
1441.25
= 0.275
=
0.069072.36
0.2754.67
= 423.85
= 12

o
= 12
0.11
0.06

4.670.665
0.11

1
3
= 67.79

1
=
1
o
+
1
i
+0.004 =
1
67
+
1
30.31
+0.004 = 20.945

req
=

calculated
lm
= 427.35
2

av
=
tubes

0

eff
= 114 0.8618 15.5 = 462.6
2

req
<
av

Calculation of pressure drop
Shell side

s
=

lean
s
= 9072.3564 =
32990.386
0.275
= 32990.386
2

=

e
=
0.0632990.386
4.84
= 408.97 = 0.005
=

s
2
tubes
5.2210
10
i
.
=
0.005329903.386
2
166
5.2210
10
0.06950.986
= 0.146
=

rich
tubes
. 851.3856
=
9396.324
61.033851.3856
= 1.78

10 139 R = 0.08 /
R = 0.08 4 = 0.32

= t +R = 0.146 +0.32 =
0.466 < 10

5.11 Pump design steps

Brake Horse Power Calculation:
From Equation 4-11
=

()
1,714

=
16.191015.266
1,714
1
0.8

12 HP


Datasheet for TEG Based Gas Dehydration Unit

Property Value Unit
Gas Stream
Temperature 113 F
Pressure 70 Barg
Flow rate (Standard) 100 MMSCFD
Flow rate (Operating) 1.321 MMCFD
Specific Gravity 0.7656 -
Density 4.425 Lb/ft
3
Compressibility
Factor
0.84 -
Water Content 84.714 Lb/MMSCF
Water Removed 7771.4 Lb/day
TEG
Circulation Rate 3 Lb
(TEG)/Lb(water)
Flow rate 16.19 Gallon/min.
Absorption Tower
Type Tray -
No. Of trays 8 Tray
Spacing 24 Inch
Height 18 Feet
Diameter 6 Feet
Scrubber height 14 Feet
Scrubber diameter 6 Feet
Total height 24 Feet
Mist extractor height 6 Feet
Reboiler
Duty 1,229,824 Btu/hr
Stripping column
Diameter 1.5 Feet
Stripping gas rate 1.6 Scf/gal(TEG)
Heat Exchanger
Lean stream flow rate 9072.36 Lb/hr
Lean stream inlet
temp.
350 F
Lean stream outlet
temp.
305.89 F

Rich stream flow rate 9396.324 Lb/hr
Lean stream inlet
temp.
230 F
Lean stream outlet
temp.
314 F
Area 450 Ft
2
No. Of tubes 114 -
Tubes/pass 114 -
No. Passes 19 -
Pressure drop 0.5 Psi
Glycol circulation
pump

BHP 12 HP


6 .Appendix

Table 6-1(Physical Constants and Properties-a)

Table 6-2(Physical Constants and Properties-b)

Table 6-3(Physical Constants and Properties-c)


Figure 6-1 Compressibility Factor (Z)


Figure 6-2 Hydrocarbo gas viscosity (Courtesy of GPSA Engineering Data Book)


Figure 6-3 Water content of saturated natural gas. Data of McKetta and Wehe


Figure 6-4 Effective Water Content of CO2 in Natural Gas Mixtures vs. Temperature at Various Pressures (Courtesy of GPSA
Engineering Data Book)

Figure 6-5 Water Content of H2S in Natural Gas Mixtures vs. Temperature at Various Pressures (Courtesy of GPSA
Engineering Data Book)


Figure 6-6 Permissible Expansion of a 0.6-Gravity Natural Gas


Figure 6-7 Permissible Expansion of a 0.7-Gravity Natural Gas


Figure 6-8 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium Constants for Methane

Figure 6-9 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium Constants for Ethane


Figure 6-10 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium Constants for Propane


Figure 6-11 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium Constants for Carbon Dioxide

Figure 6-12 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium Constants for Iso-Butane


Figure 6-13 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium Constants for N-Butane

Figure 6-14 Vapor-Solid Equilibrium Constants for Hydrogen Sulfide

Table 6-4 Physical Properties of Selected Glycols and Methanol

Figure 6-15 Effect of reboiler temperature on TEG purity at constant pressure


Figure 6-16 effect of TEG circulation rate on dew point depression at constant TEG purity









Table 6-5 Recommended Sizing Parameters for TEG Contactors


Figure 6-22 Effect of stripping gas flow rate on TEG purity (in regeneration)

Table of figures
FIGURE 1-1 (TOTAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN EGYPT, BY TYPE"2008") ........................................................................13
FIGURE 1-2 (EGYPTIAN NATURAL GAS CONSUMPTION) ................................................................................................14
FIGURE 1-3 (EGYPT'S NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION 1999-2009) ....................................................16
FIGURE 1-4 (NATIONAL GAS GRID) ................................................................................................................................17
FIGURE 1-5 (FORECASTED NATURAL GAS DEMAND) ....................................................................................................18
FIGURE 2-1 (STANDING AND KATZ COMPRESSIBILITY FACTOR CHART) ..........................................................................27
FIGURE 3-1 (PROCESSES APPLIED TO NATURAL GAS).....................................................................................................30
FIGURE 3-2 (VERTICAL SEPARATOR) ..............................................................................................................................33
FIGURE 3-3 (HORIZONTAL SEPARATOR) ........................................................................................................................33
FIGURE 3-4 (THREE-PHASE SEPARATOR) .......................................................................................................................34
FIGURE 3-5 (HORIZONTAL THREE-PHASE SEPARATOR WITH A LIQUID BOOT) ................................................................35
FIGURE 3-6 (SPHERICAL SEPARATOR) ............................................................................................................................36
FIGURE 3-7 (IRON SPONGE PROCESS) ...........................................................................................................................41
FIGURE 3-8 (AMINE SWEETENING PROCESS) .................................................................................................................45
FIGURE 3-9 (MCKETTA AND WEHE WATER CONTENT DETERMINATION CHART) ............................................................50
FIGURE 3-10 (EFFECTIVE WATER CONTENT OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE IN NATURAL GAS MIXTURE) ..................................51
FIGURE 3-11 (EFFECTIVE WATER CONTENT OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN NATURAL GAS MIXTURE).......................................51
FIGURE 3-12 CHART FOR GASES CONTAINING H2S ........................................................................................................55
FIGURE 3-13 HYDRATE CHART FOR GASES CONTAINING H2S ........................................................................................58
FIGURE 3-14 TYPICAL GLYCOL INJECTION SYSTEM .........................................................................................................59
FIGURE 3-15 (TEG DEHYDRATION PROCESS) .................................................................................................................64
FIGURE 3-16 (EFFECT OF TEG CONC. AND CIRCULATION RATE ON DEW POINT DEPRESSION) ........................................67
FIGURE 3-17 WATER REMOVAL VS. TEG CIRCULATION RATE AT VARIOUS TEG CONCENTRATIONS (N=1.0) ....................69
FIGURE 3-18 TEG CIRCULATION RATE AT VARIOUS TEG CONCENTRATIONS (N=1.5).......................................................69
FIGURE 3-22 (EFFECT OF REBOILER TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE ON TEG PURITY) .....................................................74
FIGURE 3-23 (EFFECT OF STRIPPING GAS RATE ON PURITY OF TEG) ...............................................................................78
FIGURE 3-24 (SOLID DESICCANT DEHYDRATION PROCESS) ...........................................................................................61
FIGURE 5-1 COMPRESSIBILITY FACTOR (Z)................................................................................................................... 100
FIGURE 5-2 HYDROCARBO GAS VISCOSITY (COURTESY OF GPSA ENGINEERING DATA BOOK) ....................................... 101
FIGURE 5-3 WATER CONTENT OF SATURATED NATURAL GAS. DATA OF MCKETTA AND WEHE .................................... 102
FIGURE 5-4 EFFECTIVE WATER CONTENT OF CO2 IN NATURAL GAS MIXTURES VS. TEMPERATURE AT VARIOUS
PRESSURES (COURTESY OF GPSA ENGINEERING DATA BOOK)........................................................................... 103
FIGURE 5-5 WATER CONTENT OF H2S IN NATURAL GAS MIXTURES VS. TEMPERATURE AT VARIOUS PRESSURES
(COURTESY OF GPSA ENGINEERING DATA BOOK) ............................................................................................. 103
FIGURE 5-6 PERMISSIBLE EXPANSION OF A 0.6-GRAVITY NATURAL GAS ...................................................................... 104
FIGURE 5-7 PERMISSIBLE EXPANSION OF A 0.7-GRAVITY NATURAL GAS ...................................................................... 105
FIGURE 5-8 VAPOR-SOLID EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS FOR METHANE ......................................................................... 106
FIGURE 5-9 VAPOR-SOLID EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS FOR ETHANE ............................................................................. 106
FIGURE 5-10 VAPOR-SOLID EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS FOR PROPANE ........................................................................ 107
FIGURE 5-11 VAPOR-SOLID EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS FOR CARBON DIOXIDE ............................................................ 108

FIGURE 5-12 VAPOR-SOLID EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS FOR ISO-BUTANE .................................................................... 108
FIGURE 5-13 VAPOR-SOLID EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS FOR N-BUTANE ....................................................................... 109
FIGURE 5-14 VAPOR-SOLID EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS FOR HYDROGEN SULFIDE ........................................................ 109
FIGURE 5-15 EFFECT OF REBOILER TEMPERATURE ON TEG PURITY AT CONSTANT PRESSURE ...................................... 110
FIGURE 5-16 EFFECT OF TEG CIRCULATION RATE ON DEW POINT DEPRESSION AT CONSTANT TEG PURITY.................. 111
FIGURE 5-17 TEG CIRCULATION RATE AT VARIOUS TEG CONCENTRATIONS (N=1.0)..................................................... 112
FIGURE 5-23 EFFECT OF STRIPPING GAS FLOW RATE ON TEG PURITY (IN REGENERATION) .......................................... 115

7 .Bibliography
American Petroleum Institute (API). Specification for Glycol-Type Gas Dehydration
Units "API SPECIFICATION 12GDU (SPEC 12GDU)". 1990.
Beggs, H. Dale. Gas Production Operations. OGCI publications, 1991.
Francis S. Manning, Richard E. Thompson (Ph.D.). Oilfield Processing of Petroleum:
Natural Gas, Vol.1. PennWell Books, 1991.
Gas Processors Suppliers Association (GPSA). Dehydration. In Engineering Data
Book. 1998.
Ghalambor, Dr.Boyun Guo and D.Ali. Natural Gas Engineering Handbook. Gulf
Publishing Company, Houston, Texas, 2005.
International, The American Petroleum Institute and EPCON. API TECHNICAL
DATA BOOK 7th Edition. Washington, D.C.: API Publishing Services, 2005.
Katz, Donald L. Handbook of Natural Gas Engineering. McGraw-Hill Book
company.
Ken Arnold, Maurice Stewart. Surface Production Operations, Vol.2 Design of Gas-
Handling Systems and Facilities. Gulf Publishing Company, 1998.
Saeid Mokhatab,William A. Poe,James G. Speight. HANDBOOK OF NATURAL GAS
TRANSMISSION AND PROCESSING.
William D. McCain, Jr. The properties of Petroleum Fluids, 2nd edition. PennWell
Publishing Company, 1990.

Gas Processing Thesis

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Gas Processing Thesis

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Natural Gas

) is defined as the ratio of the apparent molecular weight of a

is the molecular weight of component i, and Nc is the number of

) can be found in textbooks

) and pseudo critical temperature

) are, respectively, expressed as

are critical pressure and critical temperature of component i,

) in centipoises (cp) is usually used in the natural engineering:

)is related to the dynamic viscosity through density(

is determined from the right-hand side of this equation, gas

in Equation 4-4 is a mole fraction, not a mass fraction.

is gas volumetric flow rate,

is maximum superficial gas velocity, ft/hr;

is Souders and Brown

is glycol density, lb/

is gas density at column

is TEG circulation rate, gal/min; and D is inside diameter of stripping

is TEG circulation rate, gal/min; and P is system pressure, psig; E is

0.0052 28.000 0.14560 227.29 1.18190 493.0 2.56400

0.0964 44.000 4.24160 547.57 52.7860 1071 103.244

0.7565 16.040 12.1343 343.06 259.525 668.0 505.342

0.0827 30.070 2.48680 550.00 45.4850 780.0 58.5520

0.0339 44.100 1.49500 666.00 22.5774 616.0 20.8824

0.0060 58.120 0.35450 735.00 4.48400 529.0 3.22700

0.0093 58.120 0.45050 766.00 7.12400 551.0 5.12400

0.0030 72.150 0.21645 829.00 2.48700 490.0 1.47000

0.0027 72.150 0.19480 846.00 2.28400 498.0 1.34500

0.0043 86.178 0.37060 923.00 3.96900 437.0 1.87900

Anda mungkin juga menyukai